
Yihong (Julie) Mao
Host: New Orleans Workers' Center for Racial Justice
Sponsor: Friends and Family of Philip M. Stern
Gonzalo worked to bring wage recovery and employment justice legal services to low-wage immigrant working men and women in Dallas/Ft Worth, the largest urban area in the nation lacking legal services of this kind.
State and federal laws give all workers the right to be paid for their labor and to be protected from discrimination and abuse, regardless of their poverty or immigration status. In underserved areas of Texas, like Dallas/Ft Worth, many low-wage immigrant workers are not aware of their wage and employment rights or how they can safely protect those rights. In addition, there is a dearth of employment lawyers in this region with the specialized knowledge, skills, and experience to help low-wage workers enforce their rights. This has created a climate of impunity for predatory employers who believe they can get away with underpaying and exploiting low-wage workers – especially immigrants.
In the past two years, Gonzalo has:
Now that the Fellowship is complete, Gonzalo plans to:
Host: New Orleans Workers' Center for Racial Justice
Sponsor: Friends and Family of Philip M. Stern
Sponsor: Anonymous
Host: Land of Lincoln Legal Aid, Inc.
Sponsor: Friends and Family of Philip M. Stern, Working Hands Legal Clinic
Host: National Immigration Law Center
Sponsor: Anonymous